“The Hollerin’ Contest at Spivey’s Corner” is a documentary short about the history, characters, and sounds of the National Hollerin’ Contest. Hollerin’ itself is considered by some to be the earliest form of communication between humans, and the competition has been held annually in the small town of Spivey’s Corner, NC since 1969. The film follows the stories of three former champions as they attempt to reclaim their titles, and keep the oft-forgotten tradition of hollerin’ alive.

Director: Brian Gersten

Brian Gersten is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and non-fiction writer from Chicago, currently pursuing an MFA in documentary film at Wake Forest University. Brian previously graduated from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, and subsequently interned at Kartemquin Films. His first job in film was as the outreach coordinator for the Emmy award-winning documentary “The Trials of Muhammad Ali”. In 2014, Brian completed a documentary short entitled “The Amazing Mr. Ash”, which has been screened at festivals across the country and overseas.